Wisconsin woman accussed of beheading and decapitating boyfriend on trial- Taylor Schabusiness, the story so far

August 01, 2023

Warning: Post contains disturbing details. Reader discretion is advised.

On 23 February 2022, officers from the Green Bay Police Department were dispatched to an address on Stony Brook Ln., Green Bay, Brown County, Wisconsin, in relation to a call they had received regarding the discovery of a severed head in the caller’s basement. The caller told a dispatcher that the head had been found in a bucket in the basement of his girlfriend’s house, adding that his girlfriend believed the head to be that of her own son, Shad Thyrion, 24.

Upon the initial sweep of the residence, two officers quickly discovered pools of blood, blood stains, and eventually a severed human head, male, with dark hair, in a five-gallon bucket. The officers discovered a bloodied mattress leaning against a wall, indicating that a crime had initially taken place on the bed. According to a criminal complaint, a "male organ, along with body fluid and two knives" were also found in the bucket.

The more officers searched, the more evidence they stumbled upon, including various bags and shopping bags containing knives and internal organs, evidence of an attempted cleanup, blood, and drug paraphernalia, including a glass pipe.

The victim’s mother and her boyfriend who made the call to police were questioned about Thyrion’s whereabouts leading up to his murder and decapitation, and stated that they had last seen him alive the night of 21 February 2022, just a couple of days before. They said he was at the house with his girlfriend, whom they called Taylor Coronado, and said that although they didn’t see her leave, they heard the door slam and her van drive off.

Police soon found out the identity of the woman, Taylor D. Schabusiness, 25, with a previous address of Eastman Avenue, Green Bay, in Brown County. Officers made their way to the address and found a vehicle the suspect was known to drive parked outside. The vehicle was registered to a one Scott M. Thoms, whom Schabusiness lived with at the residence. She said Thoms slept on the couch, and she slept in the bedroom of the apartment.

Schabusiness was found standing outside of the apartment complex with crimson hands.

Since Schabusiness had an outstanding warrant for arrest, she was detained. The arresting officer noticed that Schabusiness' hands and clothes were stained with blood while he was cuffing her wrists. According to a criminal complaint, an officer discovered human remains in the vehicle, which were concealed in a crock pot box behind the passenger seat.

When later questioned about what happened, Schabusiness admitted to choking Thyrion to death with a chain during sex. She said that she had enjoyed it and asked a detective if he had “ever loved something so much he wanted to kill it?” She described in detail choking the victim with the chain until he was purple and coughing up blood, and how she continued to choke him because she had “come this far,” and “wanted to see what happened.”

While being questioned, Schabusiness was said to have commented: "Damn, the head. I can't believe I left the head though." According to documents she also told police to "have fun finding all the organs."

She detailed dismembering Thyrion with a breadknife, placing his head in the bucket in which it was discovered, and transporting a portion of his remains in the van later located on Eastman Avenue.

She admitted to police that she had used both methamphetamine and Trazodone the previous day. The Trazodone, she explained, she had injected along with Thyrion.

She went on to tell a detective that she continued to sexually assault Thyrion after he died, and continued to “play with” his body for a few hours after the victims death. She said it was not premeditated but she felt like she couldn’t stop herself once she had started.

It was later revealed by various media outlets that Schabusiness had a fascination with serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, and a selfie she had taken next to an image of the cannibal killer on a cell phone surfaced online. Schabusiness had also made an assortment of strange google searches around a week before the murder including phrases such as: “Jeffrey Dahmer walking into court all sexy” and “Jeffrey Dahmer’s butt.”

Schabusiness was charged with one Count of intention homicide, one count of mutilating a corpse and one count of third-degree sexual assault.

Initially Schabuisness' original attorney had entered a not-guilty plea for reason of insanity. He was replaced after she attacked him in court.

Schabusiness' father told the court that his daughter had been deeply affected by the sudden death of her mother some years ago and that she had moved in with her grandparents following the loss. The Defense argued that she had, at one point, been under a civil commitment due to mental illness.

Taylor Schabusiness was convicted of all charges against her last week in a decision that took jurors in Wisconsin less than an hour to conclude- declaring her mentally competent. She will be sentenced September 26, 2023.

Sources: [X][X][X][X]